Report: Red Sox owner John Henry flew to Atlanta on Friday to visit Jon Lester

Interesting news here from Rob Bradford and Alex Speier of WEEI.com, who were told by “multiple major league sources” that Red Sox owner John Henry flew to the Atlanta area on Friday to pay a visit to free agent left-hander Jon Lester. It doesn’t appear that anything is necessarily imminent, but this sends a strong signal about the team’s desire for a reunion. Here are some more details on the nature of the visit:

With Lester on the cusp of making a decision as to where he might sign, Henry´s visit was thought to be a chance for the owner to re-emphasize the Red Sox´ interest in signing the lefty. It was the second time Henry has met with Lester at the pitcher´s home during the free agent process, although the previous get-together was with other members of Sox´ownership.

CBS Sports’ Jon Heyman writes that, as of yesterday, Lester has received multiple offers in the range of $130-140 million. The Red Sox have been viewed as the slight favorite thus far, but it’s believed that their offer checks in a bit lower. For now, anyway. We could see a resolution on the situation during next week’s Winter Meetings, with the Cubs, Giants, and Dodgers also reportedly involved.

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